Bill seeks to deny features like Great Salt Lake 'legal personhood'
Some environmental advocates want to grant natural features like the Colorado River and the Great Salt Lake legal personhood similar to what corporations have, which allows them to own property, enter contracts and be sued.
However, H.B. 249, Utah Legal Personhood Amendments, would prohibit certain entities like bodies of water, artificial intelligence and non-human animals from using legal personhood status as an argument in litigation.
Rep. Walt Brooks (R-Washington), the sponsor of the bill, said legal personhood was the wrong tool to help the Great Salt Lake and could be misused by groups or individuals trying to push an agenda forward.
Environmental advocates disagreed, saying it’s a viable solution to explore to protect natural features and that if corporations can have legal personhood, living ecosystems should have that opportunity too.
All public comments during the hearing spoke in opposition. Despite this, the bill passed with only one vote against from Rep. Brian King (D-Salt Lake, Summit). It now heads to the full House for debate.
Warm weather cancels Idaho Sled Dog Challenge
Warm weather and rain have forced the 300-mile and 100-mile races of the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge to be cancelled.
The decision was announced Tuesday afternoon, with organizers saying trail conditions had deteriorated because of the unusually warm weather. A spokesperson noted this was the first time the challenge had to be cancelled due to weather.
Mushers travel from as far away as Canada to compete in the race, which is the only 300-mile Yukon Quest qualifying event in the contiguous U.S. and only one of three such events for the Iditarod in the same area.
Snow leopard at Utah’s Hogle Zoo dies at 15
Utah’s Hogle Zoo announced Tuesday that one of its snow leopards passed away.
Milenka first came to Hogle Zoo in 2019 and was known for her star-crossed eyes. She died of natural causes at age 15 after multiple injections and procedures over the past year.
The zoo’s announcement of Milenka’s passing on Facebook was filled with comments from visitors and staff alike sharing condolences and fond memories. There are two other snow leopards at Utah’s Hogle Zoo, Babs and Chim, who are reportedly both doing well.
